enjoying seeing my sister so flustered, the last thing I wanted was a face to face with Holden and Kenna. I needed to get the heck out of there. “It’s fine. I’m fine. We’re fine. Go have fun.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen. We’ve never liked the same guy before.” She shook her head.
“Our record still stands. I was trying to convince myself that I liked him, but you were right. I’m not attracted to him. There was no chemistry. And there obviously is between you two. Go. Have fun. Seriously. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I started to turn to walk away but was stopped when Molly grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a hug. The gesture took me by surprise for a couple of reasons. Number one being, Molly had always been allergic to affection. Any sort of hug or embrace that we’d ever shared had been initiated by me and it had been quickly cut short by her. And second, well…, no I guess there was only that one reason.
“Thank you. I’m sorry.”
The only thing that surprised me more than the hug was the sincerity in her apology. Molly wasn’t one to admit when she was wrong. Sure, she’d throw out an “I’m sorry,” but if you read between the lines of it there were always classifiers with her apologies. She was basically saying that she was sorry I was being sensitive, not actually taking responsibility for having any culpability for her actions. I could count on one hand the number of times she’d said that she was sorry and meant it.
This was one of those times.
“It’s okay. Really.” I hugged her back.
When she pulled back she stared in my eyes, and I did my best to convince her that I wasn’t upset.
Finally, after several long seconds of her staring into my soul, she relented and released my arms.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said over her shoulder as she practically skipped in the direction Jake had headed.
Tears began to fill my eyes but I sniffed them away as I walked as fast as my feet would carry me away from the crowd still gathered in the town square. My house was six blocks away, and for the first four blocks my mind was blank, and I was just moving as fast as my feet could take me in camel wedges. By the fifth block, I lost a little steam. I was exhausted. I felt defeated. And thanks to trying to look cute, I had blisters on my feet.
So I did what any country girl worth her salt would do and I slid off my shoes. On a positive note, I did feel an immense amount of relief as I took my first step barefoot. It was the only silver lining of the evening. I was sure that things weren’t as bad as they felt right now. But I decided to start the pity party early and allow myself to wallow in my misery the rest of the way home.
I’d tried to put myself out there and the first real prospect I had becomes instantly smitten with my twin. And not only that, she reciprocated his feelings. Holden and Kenna were most likely officially dating. And since he lived next door to me, I’d know when she spent the night. Her Honda Accord was going to be parked in our shared driveway.
As I rounded the corner onto my street I heard a truck behind me. On instinct, I turned my head toward the sound. It was Holden’s truck.
I needed to move. That was the only answer.
Chapter 23
Holden
“Words have power, but actions shape lives.”
~ Maggie Calhoun
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Olivia was walking barefoot down our street. After the movie, I’d looked for her and hadn’t been able to find her. I was sure that she’d already left with Jake. But there she was.
My pulse sped as I pulled up into the driveway. Thoughts were whizzing around my head. What should I say to her? I wanted to ask her what was going on with her and Jake but I knew it was none of my business.
I opened the door and before I even made it out of the truck Olivia rushed by me not making eye contact. “Hey!”
“How did you meet Jake?” I’d planned on saying hi, but that came out instead.
She stopped before she made it to her porch and turned back to me. “You know Jake?”